The New York City Council passed on Oct. 23, 2024 the Safe Hotels Act, which seeks to establish a licensing program for New York City hotels. Mayor Eric Adams is expected to sign this legislation into law. As discussed in...more
New York retail businesses with 10 or more employees have less than six months to prepare for new workplace violence prevention requirements included in the state’s recently passed Retail Workers Safety Act (RWSA). The law...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit recently vacated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest provisions of its Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, colloquially known as the 80/20/30 Rule through...more
8/29/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Job Duties ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Minimum Wage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
A federal court in Texas has determined the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule prohibiting most noncompete agreements is unlawful, meaning that for now, employers in jurisdictions that permit such agreements can...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Injunctions ,
Lack of Authority ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Statutory Authority ,
Texas ,
Unfair Competition
Lawmakers recently approved the 2024-2025 New York State budget, revising a number of laws that employers must be mindful of to ensure compliance. Specifically, these changes include: (1) the implementation of prenatal leave...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final regulations on April 23, 2024 that increase the salary threshold level necessary to exempt certain employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and...more
New York City employers will soon need to post and otherwise distribute a new Worker’s Rights poster. The new poster, recently released by The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protections, includes a QR code...more
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released updated guidance regarding COVID-19. On March 1, 2024, the CDC eliminated its recommendation that people who contract the virus isolate for five...more
Beginning June 30, 2024, Washington, D.C. employers will be required to disclose salary or hourly pay ranges and benefits information for open positions. The new law also establishes certain employee protections related to...more
Under a new law that took effect on February 11, 2024, all “sellers” in New York who apply a credit card surcharge to sales transactions must now comply with certain consumer disclosure requirements.
Signed into law by...more
New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, created a split among the state’s appellate courts on whether individuals have a private right of action to recover damages for violations of the frequency of payments...more
As explained in our previous alert, in October 2023, after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law increases to New York’s minimum wage, the New York State Department of Labor (NY DOL) issued proposed changes to the tip credit,...more
12/28/2023
/ Exempt-Employees ,
Minimum Wage ,
New York ,
NYDOL ,
Over-Time ,
Rate of Pay ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Uniforms ,
Wage and Hour
Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed into law the “Freelance Isn’t Free” Act (the Act), which aims to provide freelance workers certain protections across the state.
New York employers who use freelancers or independent...more
New York State recently enacted further restrictions limiting language that can be contained in employment-related release agreements (including severance, separation, and settlement agreements). The changes, which were...more
Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law in May increases to New York’s minimum wage that will occur over the next few years. The first increase is set to take effect on January 1, 2024. Additional increases to the minimum wage...more
In new draft guidance, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proposes to recognize broad protections for LGBTQ+ employees in the workplace and allow bias claims premised on abortion-related decisions. It also...more
10/4/2023
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Social Media ,
Training ,
Transgender ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
The New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) has issued proposed regulations related to New York’s Pay Transparency Law, which are open for comment until November 12, 2023. In addition, the NYDOL issued a fact sheet and a set of...more
Employers have until Oct. 15, 2023 to ensure that their safe and sick leave policies remain compliant with New York City law after the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) on Sept. 15, 2023 issued...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed rules on August 30, 2023, to raise the salary threshold level necessary to exempt certain employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay...more
9/1/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Over-Time ,
Proposed Rules ,
Salaried Employees ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Last month, the New York Department of Labor promulgated amendments to its New York Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (NY WARN) regulations. These amendments are now in effect, and they add significant burdens...more
The New York Legislature passed a bill (A01278/S3100A) that would prohibit noncompetition agreements between employers and employees by adding a new Section 191-d to the New York Labor Law. If it is signed into law by Gov....more
At the end of a trial last month, a federal jury found Equinox Holdings Inc. (Equinox) liable for maintaining a hostile work environment and discriminating against a former employee on the basis of race and gender in...more
On May 23, 2023, Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, enacted the Evanston Fair Workweek Ordinance, which imposes a sweeping, predictive scheduling obligation on employers to provide employees with advance notice of work...more
6/2/2023
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Fair Workweek ,
Food Service Workers ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Illinois ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retailers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
As part of the state’s 2023-2024 budget deal, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law an increase to New York’s minimum wage. In fact, the minimum wage will increase to $17.00 per hour for most New York State employers by Jan. 1,...more
Connecticut businesses have until August 31, 2023 to offer a retirement savings plan to employees. In 2016, the Connecticut General Assembly enacted Public Act 16-29, which created the Connecticut Retirement Security...more